SweepSouth Secure $11 Million Funding from Alitheia IDF

SweepSouth, an on-demand house cleaning and service platform based in Cape Town, has acquired a further $11 million in capital, headed this time by private equity fund Alitheia IDF. The investment, which comes nine months after the start-up completed the acquisition of Egyptian home services platform FilKhedma, will enable it to increase its current business and enter new markets.

Two women-led companies, Alitheia Capital (Lagos) and IDF Capital, co-founded and run the $100 million “gender-lens fund” known as Alitheia IDF (Johannesburg). In six African nations—Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, and Zambia—the fund, which announced its full close in 2021 to become the largest gender-lens private equity fund in Africa, finds, invests in, and grows SMEs headed by gender-diverse teams.

The most recent round of funding—SweepSouth’s largest to date, follows a significant increase in the company’s valuation. As well as new investors Endeavor Catalyst, Endeavor’s Harvest Fund II, Caruso Ventures, and E4E Africa, existing investors Naspers Foundry, The Michael and Susan Dell Foundation, and Futuregrowth Asset Management all committed to taking part in the new round, the company stated.

Aisha Pandor and her husband Alen Ribic established SweepSouth in 2014; it is active in South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, and Egypt making it one of a few start-ups operating in Africa’s four key tech markets. According to a statement from the company, the most recent round of funding will enable the company to further develop and strengthen its infrastructure and workforce in South Africa.

Less than a year ago, SweepSouth announced the acquisition of Filkhedma, an Egyptian home services startup. At the time, Filkhedma operated across three cities, serving tens of thousands of customers with cleaning, maintenance, and beauty services.

“We are particularly proud to have raised funding from Alitheia IDF, a female-led fund, and to have included more women investors on the cap table via a female-focused special purpose vehicle during this round. We are excited about what this means for us going forward and thrilled to have Polo Leteka from Alitheia IDF join the board,” said Pandor in the statement.